New study finds two-way connection between rumination and problematic pornography use

A new study published in The Journal of Sex Research provides evidence that people who experience problematic pornography use tend to also engage in repetitive negative thinking patterns known as rumination. Over time, this relationship appears to be two-way, especially among women. The findings suggest that patterns of thinking and behavior are deeply connected, particularly in the context of distress related to sexual behavior.

Problematic pornography use refers to a pattern of consumption that becomes difficult to control and causes distress or problems in a person’s life, such as relationship conflicts, academic or work issues, or emotional suffering. While pornography use is common and often non-problematic, a subset of individuals struggles with usage patterns that are compulsive and distressing.

Previous research has associated problematic pornography use with a range of mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression, and feelings of shame or guilt. These emotional experiences are often linked to rumination, which is the repetitive focus on distressing thoughts and feelings.

Despite this conceptual overlap, no studies had directly explored how rumination and problematic pornography use influence each other over time. The current research aimed to fill this gap by looking at two types of rumination—brooding and reflection—and assessing how they relate to problematic pornography use in both men and women.

Rumination involves getting mentally stuck in negative thoughts. It has two commonly studied forms. Brooding is a more passive, critical style of thinking where people dwell on their problems without seeking solutions. Reflection, on the other hand, is more deliberate and focused on trying to understand and resolve problems. While both are forms of rumination, brooding is more strongly linked with emotional problems such as depression, whereas reflection can sometimes help with coping.

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“Rumination is generally understood as a maladaptive thought pattern. Pornography use, unlike many other behavioral addictions, is often accompanied by shame and guilt, which are less common in other types of addictive behaviors,” said study author Süleyman Agah Demirgül, a Phd candidate and research assistant at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University. “Based on this, we hypothesized that individuals with higher levels of problematic pornography use would also be more prone to ruminative thoughts. Our primary motivation was to test this hypothesis systematically.”

The research team used data from the Budapest Longitudinal Study, which followed young adults in Hungary over several years. For this particular analysis, they used data collected at two points: once between mid-2020 and late 2021, and again a year later. A total of 2,786 adults (average age 28) participated, including roughly equal numbers of men and women. Participants completed questionnaires that measured the severity of their problematic pornography use and the degree to which they experienced brooding and reflective rumination.

To assess problematic pornography use, participants answered questions about their behavior over the past six months, including how often they tried and failed to stop using pornography, how strongly they felt drawn to it, and whether it interfered with their daily life, such as work, relationships, or emotional well-being.

Rumination was measured through self-reports of how often participants engaged in repetitive and negative thinking. The researchers focused on two types of rumination: brooding and reflection.

Brooding refers to a more passive and critical form of thinking. It involves dwelling on one’s problems without actively seeking solutions, often accompanied by self-blame and feelings of inadequacy. For example, someone who broods might repeatedly ask themselves why they always make the same mistakes or why their life isn’t better.

In contrast, reflection is a more purposeful and active process. It involves thoughtfully considering one’s emotions and experiences in an effort to understand and cope with them. A person who reflects might ask themselves what they can learn from a difficult experience or how they might handle things differently in the future.

The researchers used a statistical method called cross-lagged analysis to assess the direction of influence between problematic pornography use and rumination over time. They also tested whether the patterns were different for men and women.

In the short term, people who scored higher on problematic pornography use also scored higher on both brooding and reflective rumination. This was true for both men and women. These cross-sectional findings suggest that individuals who feel distressed by their pornography use tend to also report higher levels of repetitive negative thinking, whether it’s focused on self-criticism or problem-solving.

Over the course of a year, higher levels of problematic pornography use at the beginning of the study predicted increased levels of both brooding and reflection later on. This pattern held true for both men and women. The findings provide support for the idea that distress caused by problematic pornography use may lead people to engage more frequently in rumination over time.

However, the reverse relationship—whether rumination predicted future pornography use—differed by gender and by the type of rumination.

“Our longitudinal studies demonstrate that the relationship between rumination and problematic pornography use is bidirectional,” Demirgül told PsyPost. “This means that problematic pornography use increases individuals’ tendency to ruminate over time, regardless of gender, while rumination itself also contributes to the escalation of problematic pornography use. However, the nature of this relationship differs across genders.”

“Among women, brooding has been shown to increase problematic pornography use over time. In contrast, among men, reflective rumination seems to act as a protective factor, reducing problematic pornography use. These findings suggest that problematic pornography use shapes cognitive processes in both genders, but the outcomes diverge—negative for women and, in some cases, protective for men.”

“The most surprising result was that reflective rumination actually decreased problematic pornography use among men. While we anticipated brooding to be maladaptive, the protective role of reflective rumination was unexpected and quite striking.”

The authors caution that while their study provides evidence of associations between problematic pornography use and rumination, it cannot establish definitive cause-and-effect relationships. The reliance on self-reported data is another limitation, as participants may have underreported or exaggerated their behavior or thoughts. The sensitive nature of pornography use, which often carries stigma, may also have influenced how people responded.

The researchers suggest that future studies should include more diverse samples, examine the context in which pornography is used, and consider other factors such as sexual orientation. They also propose looking more closely at how reflective rumination might serve as a protective factor, particularly among men, and how this might inform therapeutic approaches.

“My broader research focus is on pornography use and body-related dissatisfaction,” Demirgül explained. “Our recent findings have been both surprising and thought-provoking, and I would like to continue exploring how rumination interacts with problematic pornography use, particularly in relation to body dissatisfaction. This direction, I believe, can deepen our understanding of the cognitive and psychological mechanisms underlying pornography use.”

The study, “Longitudinal Associations Between Problematic Pornography Use and Types of Rumination,” was authored by Süleyman Agah Demirgül, Zsolt Demetrovics, Andrea Czakó, Borbála Paksi, Gyöngyi Kökönyei, and Beáta Bőthe.